Our vassals are able to threaten our kingdom in basically three ways: by seeking independence or autonomy or by supporting a claimant. Membership in a faction is not very stable, I happen to have vassals who entered and left a faction a dozen times in a month. Factions can be dangerous, but it is enough to improve the opinion that the members have of us to induce them to leave the faction.
All these things make the nobility - which should be one of the main pillars of feudal society - not very effective in the politics of the kingdom.
Things would be different if the nobles united in proper political parties. We could found a party aimed at cultivating good relations with one kingdom and war with another. If the ruler goes along with the party line, he will get opinion bonuses from his members, who would be more willing to meet the demands of him. If, on the other hand, the king decides to go against the party, the nobles who are part of it could decide to boycott their lord, providing less levers and fewer taxes, until they start thinking of deposing him and crowning a king more in line with their ideas.
Unlike the faction, the party would become a constant presence, requiring the player to make an ongoing effort to mediate and control the nobility, making the game much more difficult and complex.
All these things make the nobility - which should be one of the main pillars of feudal society - not very effective in the politics of the kingdom.
Things would be different if the nobles united in proper political parties. We could found a party aimed at cultivating good relations with one kingdom and war with another. If the ruler goes along with the party line, he will get opinion bonuses from his members, who would be more willing to meet the demands of him. If, on the other hand, the king decides to go against the party, the nobles who are part of it could decide to boycott their lord, providing less levers and fewer taxes, until they start thinking of deposing him and crowning a king more in line with their ideas.
Unlike the faction, the party would become a constant presence, requiring the player to make an ongoing effort to mediate and control the nobility, making the game much more difficult and complex.
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